The former spokesperson of the now-disbanded Civil Human Rights Front has been sentenced to three months in jail, over yet another 2019 protest-related offence.
Since May, the 25-year-old has now been handed five jail terms for his roles at unauthorised protests between 2019 and 2020.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to a charge of knowingly participating in an illegal assembly during a September 15, 2019 protest, Stand News reported.
| Sentencing date | Figo Chan convictions | Jail term |
|---|---|---|
| May 28, 2021 | Participating in an unauthorised assembly on National Day, 2019. | 18 months |
| September 1, 2021 | Organising and conspiring to incite others to attend an unauthorised protest on October 19, 2019. | 16 months |
| September 15, 2021 | Inciting and organising an unauthorised assembly on June 4, 2020 | 10 months |
| October 18, 2021 | Inciting others to participate in, organising and knowingly taking part in a banned protest on July 1, 2020 | 21 months |
| October 26, 2021 | Participating in an illegal assembly on September 15, 2019. | 3 months |
| Total jail term, with some served concurrently: | 22 months |
Daniel Tang, a magistrate at the Eastern Magistrates Court, ruled that one extra month was to be added to Chan’s current jail terms, as he handed down the three-month sentence. Two months will be served concurrently.
In all, Chan will serve 22 months behind bars over his roles in five unauthorised or illegal protests.
‘I completely agree’
“I dared to do it, I dared to plead guilty,” the League of Social Democrats member reportedly said on Tuesday.
After prosecutors read out his alleged offences, Chan said: “I completely agree with being arrested. I completely agree with being prosecuted two years after the fact. I completely agree that Chan Tong-kai has not been to prison, but I have.” He was referring to the alleged murderer of Amber Poon, whose case sparked the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests.
Three fellow League of Social Democrats members unfurled a protest banner outside the Eastern Law Courts Building ahead of Chan’s sentencing. “Human rights above political regime. Peaceful protest is not a crime,” the banner read.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
Correction 27.10.21: An earlier version of this story misstated two of Figo Chan’s sentencing dates as being in 2019. They should be October 18 and 26, 2021.
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